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Health & Fitness

Mackinac Island's Mary McGuire returns to her hometown digs to perform at Arts, Beats and Eats

Performing at Arts, Beats and Eats on BD’s Mongolian Grill Cultural/Acoustic Stage Sunday 9/1 at 3pm and with the Blood Sisters at 5pm on the Budweiser Stage, Mary McGuire returns to her hometown digs to showcase her new musical collaborations.

Mary McGuire returns to her hometown digs to showcase her new musical collaborations with Detroit Music Award winning guitarist Erik Gustafson (Howling Diablos, Brothers Groove, Blue Dog, Larval) and in her power acoustic rock group Blood Sisters with Barbara Payton (Bob Seger, Kid Rock) and Michelle Chenard (Leaving Dodge).

As a Motor City Music Award & Detroit Music Award winning singer/songwriter (best folk, best acoustic), her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. Her compositions have been used in films, television shows, General Motors commercials and on the celebrated slack radio show Church of the Subgenius.

"I am so excited to head down from Mackinac Island to my old stompin' grounds to perform for the Arts, Beats and Eats Festival" shares McGuire. “I grew up in Oak Park and Huntington Woods and lived for years in Royal Oak, Ferndale, Troy…well that entire Woodward corridor over the years. I have played ABE before -- when it was in Pontiac and it was a blast, but I am really looking forward to Royal Oak as the venue  as I spent years teaching guitar at Royal Music and playing on the streets at Gayle's Chocolates and in the clubs downtown. It will be great to see old friends at the show."

Growing up in 70's Detroit and learning from the radio jocks of America's first underground radio stations WABX, WRIF and WWWW was all it took for Mary McGuire to pick up the guitar and learn her first Beatles, Neil Young, Eagles and Led Zeppelin tunes. Once she started, her appetite for acoustic rock guitar was fueled. McGuire shares

"I learned so much from the DJs in Detroit; Steve Kostan, Arthur Penhallow, Doug Podell, Karen Savelly, Kelly Brown, Judy Adams, Ann Delisi...I could go on for days...The Famous Coachman, Robert Jones, China Jones..you name it, they all fueled my appetite for music and influenced me greatly."

McGuire is playing two showcases during the festival, one at 3pm on Sunday, September 1 on the BD Mongolian Grill Acoustic Stage with veteran guitarist and bandmate Erik Gustafson (Howling Diablos, Blue Dog, Brothers Groove, Larval).

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"Erik and I met during the Mackinac Island Music Festival (McGuire has lived on Mackinac Island year round for the past ten years) and hit it off as guitar geeks instantly. We have a alt-rock/psychedelic/rock band on the Island called Calamity Jane and are always finding new ways to collaborate and express ourselves" she adds "he is certainly one of the best guitar players I know and this will be a really fun hour of music for us."

Her second showcase is with her band Blood Sisters which features Detroit Music Award winning singer Barbara Payton (Bob Seger, Kid Rock) and acclaimed Northern Michigan singer/songwriter Michelle Chenard (Leavin' Dodge). A 300-mile distance between their residences - McGuire lives on Mackinac Island, Chenard in Petoskey and Payton in metro Detroit -- has not prevented them from collaborating.  In fact, they enjoy using computer technology to share ideas and even more, traveling throughout the state to meet, write, record and perform.

"Barbara and I met performing at Marianne Williamson event at the RenCen years ago and Michelle and I met on Mackinac. A few years ago we were all backstage at the Mackinac Island Music Festival's Last Waltz show listening to the Forbes Brothers and couldn't help but harmonize with each other. We thought, hey, we have something here, we ought to be a band...and the Blood Sisters were born." 

Blood Sisters have been performing primarily in Northern Michigan at festivals and radio events. They have been featured live on Interlochen Public Radio and on WKLT-The Rock Station in Traverse City. KLT's Garage hosted has featured the band several times.

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"The Blood Sisters are a combination of 3 deliciously talented singer / songwriters whose combined vocals blend into beautiful harmonies taking you on a musical journey exposing personal stories of past loves and life."  shares Northern Michigan's favorite rock DJ Terri Ray of WKLT-FM. Being fortunate to have Northern Michigan radio receive the band so well, they are now looking forward to getting into the studio with Chuck Alkazian at Pearl Sound in Canton this winter to start work on their EP. Blood Sisters are performing on the Budweiser Rock Stage at 5pm on Sunday, September 1st. This will be the first performance of Blood Sisters at the Arts, Beats and Eats Festival.

About Arts, Beats & Eats
Ford Arts, Beats & Eats, presented by FirstMerit Bank was founded to celebrate the quality of life in Oakland County by offering a culturally unique presentation of artists, musicians and food exhibits, from the Metro Detroit area, and throughout the United States.

www.artsbeatseats.com  (http://www.artsbeatseats.com)

About Mary McGuire
Loads of guitar lessons, gigging solo and stints in bands with like-minded musicians writing and recording led her to rack up miles on the highways across America. Mary suddenly found her writing songs about where she was, what she saw and what she was doing from her perspective gleaned in the Upper Midwest.

Moving from the Midwest to the East Coast and back, Mary found that each place had a different soundtrack that influenced her writing - from the rock influences of industrial Detroit to the gentle folk rock influences from the shores of Martha's Vineyard to the rhythm of the horses clipping along on the car-free streets of Mackinac Island. Absorbing the distinct sound of the people and places where she has lived and letting it all influence her is what defines her characteristic songwriting style.

Mary has shared the stage with a notable list of rock and folk artists, including Rickie Lee Jones, David Crosby, BB King, Patty Griffin, Anni DiFranco, .38 Special, Neville Brothers, Lou Reed, Pat Benetar, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Amboy Dukes, Nils Lofgren, Arlo Guthrie, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Blues Traveler and more. Currently, Mary is excited to be collaborating in the Rustbelt again- writing, performing and recording in the alt-rock/prog rock band Blood Sisters and in Northern Michigan in the psychedelic/ grunge/folk-rock band Calamity Jane.

www.marymcguire.com (http://www.marymcguire.com/index2.php#/home/)
www.facebook.com/marymcguiremusic  (http://www.facebook.com/marymcguiremusic)

About Blood Sisters
Blood Sisters began when Barbara Payton, Michelle Chenard and Mary McGuire met up as individual performers at the Mackinac Island Music Festival. They got together for a one-off show at a pub on Mackinac Island during the winter and had such great chemistry, they decided to collaborate as songwriters and the band Blood Sisters was born. With similar musical influences, common interests both onstage and off, sharing in charitable and activist roles and philosophies.  

Currently, they are working on new material with bandmates and veteran Detroit musicians, most notably bassist Gary Rasmussen (The UP, Sonic's Rendevous, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop) and have been recording with engineer/producer Chuck Alkazian at Pearl Sound Studios.

www.thebloodsisters.com

www.facebook.com/bloodsisters
 

Contact:
Enchanted Minstrel Music - Black Horse Records
PO Box 115
Mackinac Island, MI 49757
enchantedminstrelmusic@gmail.com 
(906) 847-0912

 
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